FZero Requiem - The forgotten Nightmare
by Sha Yurigami
Summary: Caster stood in the middle of a field of flowers, with Irisviel von Einzbern laying on a slap of stone, watching the suffering King of Knigts struggle to reach them while the rest of the world began to shatter like glass.
1. The first sword

_**A/N:**_ **WARNINGS: This story will challenge the reader to think for themselves.** **This story will end with the forth Grail war and will never have a sequel…at least not written…so prepare for twist and turns that will rock your socks!**

…–––––…

Caster stood in the middle of a field of flowers, with Irisviel von Einzbern laying on a slap of stone, watching the suffering King of Knights struggle to reach them.

...

Sirens shot through the air while the the Inspector in charge commanded his colleagues to find the fugitive. He coughed loudly holding his bandaged waist, but nobody dared to approach him or tell him to leave for everyone involved with this case knew what was at stake and how important it was for the Inspector to capture this criminal. Behind the inspector was his protegee, grtting his teeth and remaining silent but never letting his elder out of sight again.

-.-

Off in the distance on the tallest of buildings stood a figure clad completely in white watching the chaos below unfold clapping to the cries of the victims and the screams of those valiant heroes struggling to fight against another.

.

Kiritsugu Emiya ran through the backstreets and alleys like a madman, clutching his bleeding arm against his body while keeping his gun steady and ready to shot. How did it come to this? Where did he go wrong? Why had any of this happened. Those were the questions running through his mind while he ran, not noticing the tears that leaked from his eyes nor the specter of death hanging over his head and watching his misery.

* * *

… Forth Holy Grail War …

* * *

– The Forgotten Nightmare started with a requiem –

* * *

When Caster came to, he stood in the middle of a dark room. The smell of iron in the air and the sight of decapitated bodies adults and children, a family probably, indicated that he was summoned into a murder scene. The Grail did not provide him information but that was intended. Next to him stood a brown haired man talking to him in an excited voice while gesturing wildy, from the sound of the words he deduced that the man spoke Japanesse - though he took note that one of the youth's feet was drenched in blood and the three signs on his hand. The sound of squirming made him look down at a child bound by ropes with its mouth covered.

"Ne, are you hungry demon?" he adjusted his hearing yet the first thing he had to understand was an invitation to eat a child. He reached into his chest pocket with his left hand, heard the familiar sound of wrapping paper and pulled out a lollipop. Unwrapping the stick he ignored the man who summoned him.

The brown haired man made a disappointed noise wondering why the demon he summon didn't do anything and instead put candy in his mouth. Weren't demons supposed to eat little children for breakfast? Before he could utter his displeasure he took a good look at the demon.

The man looked like a regular human despite the emotionless face, wearing white clothes that resembled, in design, a tuxedo but with an extension on the backside. White shoes, white pants, everything was white and the brown haired man played with the terrifying thought that he accidentally had summoned an angel…alas the summoned man had red hair instead of the expected white. The bangs were barely hanging over the eyes while a few strands of hair made an arch like turn around the ears. Blue eyes then stared at him.

Surprised by the sudden attention the brown haired man stumbled backwards yet he could not move any farther.

The summoned man stretched his hand towards the brown haired one "To get summoned by something like you? I can tell that you've just sacrificed that boys family and probably many others to bring me forth…" he said in an emotionless voice with his stoic face looking at the circle beneath his feet, turning his palm "…sadly I hat to tell you that you wasted your efforts."

And as he moved the brown haired man's body stiffened, pressed together with the youth's eyes were nearly bulging out of their socks from the force that compressed his body, yet no ounce of pain was felt. Tears were leaking from his eyes due to the stimulation of his tear sacks while his body and clothes lost color. He watched through unseen pupils how his body became transparent, like glass, while compressing into the form of a triangle. The pressure now applied sideways shaping his deformed body into the form of a sword.

The summoned man walked towards the now sword shaped summoner. The only indication that the glass like sword was once a human was the handle…it was the head, still intact, still the same size and shape. The red haired Caster touched the head moving the glass like objectification as if it was still flesh.

"I am keeping you in this form, after all you are still the anchor that keeps me in this world." he then turned to the now terrified child. Its eyes were wide open while tears fell from its eyes. The red haired man walked over to it, knelt down and patted its head.

"I apologize that I was summoned from your family's blood…" he said while untying the child from its bounds. Once the child was freed the red haired man retreated his hands putting them into his pockets "And I also apologize that I need to erase your memories."

The child looked terrified but the red haired man got up without a word. He placed a hand on the child's head, then lifted his hand slowly. A white glittery light forced into the shape of a sword floated in the air right in front of the summons hand. He made a fist, shattering the floating object at the same time, while the child collapsed on the blood covered floor.

"Well then..." he looked around the room, then grabbed the man-sword hybrid. He brought the sword into a diagonal position single-handed pushing it forward. The tip was forced against an invisible wall causing ripples as it slowly disappeared. He sighed once it did. Then he walked around the living room, before feeling a slight spike in energy coming from the far south. Disinterested he looked to the TV which changed channels every so often.

Turning his back towards everything he walked to the telephone, dialed the number for the police and left.

* * *

A voice coming from the other line of the call, loud and clear, asking who was talking, what happened and some other things. The noises woke up the child, it didn't remember anything after the brown haired man entered their home. It stank. Covering its nose the child looked around still only half awake until its eyes fell upon the gruesome sight around it. It vomited on the spot coughing and crying.

Apparently having heard the noises of the child the person on the telephone started calling out to whoever was crying. Instinctively crawling towards the voice in hope of finding solace ,the child took the phone and placed it at its ear.

"Wh-who?"

"This is the police, are you okay? Did something happen?" the voice asked frantically but the child continued crying.

"Mr. Police pl-e-ase help u-s-…"

From outside the house the red haired man stood, the air was cool, cold even, while he listened to the child's cries for help. He strode away, the end of his lollipop stick igniting before dying down to let smoke rise.

As he walked up a slope his eyes turned to the direction he felt the spike in energy from. _Either a fight is about to break out or a very powerful individual is currently residing in that direction_ , were his thoughts while he started to move in that direction.

 _Either way, it is time to initiate phase One._

Far to the south from the summons location was a manor, surrounded by a large open garden and a forest. Around the manor was a small forest with a few mountains close to it. The manor had a European exterior with marble walls covered in rich ornaments. The garden was relatively plain in comparison with a neatly trimmed lawn. The thing that stood out however was the large crater right in the middle of it.

A road atop a slope, at least a few hundred yards away from the manor, was the perfect place to oversee the entire building. The red haired summon watched the manor as he walked along the road, noting the the damage on the lawn and the residue energy in the air. _At least a few projectiles, explosive types...No more likely A Noble Phantasm_ he thought then looked at a man who waited in front of him.

Dark clothes resembling a priest's garb, brown hair, white skin although probably of Asian decent. Hanging from the man's neck was a silver cross while the red markings on his right hand flared for a second, yet the most noticeably feature was the nigh emotionless face staring at the manor.

The summon walked next to the man, who had not noticed him.

"Wasn't it cruel to send out your Servant into his death?" he voiced making the priest jump sideways. From his sleeves fell six handles which he grabbed between his fingers. Black blades sprung forth from the handles before the man dropped into a stance. The red haired one looked at him keeping his hands inside of his pockets. Dark lifeless eyes staring at him.

"I apologize for suddenly appearing before you, my Master only send me here to take a look at the competition, therefore I have no reason fight against you."

"A Servant?"

"Indeed, although my summoning was flawed." he pulled a hand out of his pocket presenting it to the priest, smiling while closing his eyes "I do not possess the necessary information concerning the war hence why my Master was disappointed and send me here. Maybe he intended for me to die as well."

The priest relaxed sensing no ill intent towards him.

"I see. But it appears to be unusual that someone would mess up the summoning of an Heroic Spirit."

"Indeed, apparently he couldn't summon the Servant he wanted and instead received me, although regrettable I don't miss his company at all. Conservative Magicians of this age are hard to please apparently." the priest's eyes went open, his mouth hanging slightly.

"Are you implying that one of the five Magicians summoned you, Servant?" the priest's hand shook slightly, barely noticeable had he not held his weapon as tightly.

The red head opened his eyes "Are those practiced in the Art of Magic no longer called Magicians? Surely something like that couldn't have changed over the ages?" he said making the priest look at him warily. Looking back at the manor, seeing a barely noticeable golden spark in one of the windows, he then turned around. A smile on his lips as he looked back at the priest.

"Alas it seemed that my role has ended and my Master desires for me to be at _his_ side. I wish you a pleasant night." he dissolved into white particles leaving behind the priest.

Said clergy without batting an eyelash ran off the opposite direction at full speed, a single thought running rampant in his mind _Did a Magician enter the Grail War without anyone noticing or was a Servant from the age of Gods called?_ While he disappeared into the night, he didn't notice the red head reappearing at the same spot he was before. He took out another lollipop, unwrapped it and put it into his mouth.

He took a last long look at the manor watching as he was watched. A man in golden armor, hidden behind countless walls yet his presence was as enormous as the ocean. His gaze was directed at the red haired Servant not letting his eyes avert. Neither did the red head. Until a bus drove by. The red head disappeared.

The night was over.

Seeing as it was of no use to take hold of the leylines yet, the red head instead opted to walk around the town to familiarize himself with every possible route or find a place to rest.

The city was vacant, probably due to the time, yet an eery silence accompanied the streets as he searched for a possible settlement. His strides were silent but quick as he walked along an alleyway. A few thugs here a few drunks there and he found his way into a bar on the harbor side of the city. _The Jolly Rogue Hut._ The pub was overcrowded with a foul stench that came from dead fish and long overdue drunks who could need less drinks and more baths. Most of the guests were sulking in the gloomy atmosphere.

"Good evening." the red head said to the waiter, a bulky man with as much hair as muscles on his arms and some unreadable tattoos. The waiter looked at him with narrowed eyes before greeting him with a grunt.

"Whatcha doing 'ere, shouldn't someone as fancy as ya spent de night at a' nice hotel?" the bartender said but the red head dismissed it with a hand wave.

"A little boy in my neighborhood got kidnapped and they found the body earlier," he said making a few of the guests heads raise "the police came and asked me if I knew anything but they wouldn't tell me what happened to the child..."

The bartender sighed handing him a mug full of beer "Here, drin' up. I know de feels since most of de guys came 'ere for de same reason. Tis' also the only bar open at dis hour."

The red head massaged his nose, grabbed the mug and gulped it down in one move. He immediately got a refill.

"I'm new to the town, just got the house and hoped to find a nice girl to share it with." his voice was sultry, his eyes however focused on the news paper article on the wall. It didn't look new or even from a serious magazine but the article was about a Japanese man who apparently walked from battlefield to battlefield. Noticing his gaze the bartender looked at the article himself.

"Ah, dat. How long has it been? Dat guy's a real phantom an' made it big…then he had to disappear as if all that he had down was jus' smoke and ashes. Kinda sad, but wit' a bastard like dat gone at least a few of ma boys can come home once in a while."

"Are your children soldiers?" he pried.

"Na, de bunch are jus' fools who grew up in ma neighborhood. Were in the SDF for a while but got fired 'cause one o' 'em was accused of murder. 'Cause dat's a buncha bullshit but nobod' would believ'em." the red head's eye brow raised.

"What does that got to do with-"

The bartender interrupted him "Ah was getting there! Ya see the murder happened when there were send to a training camp of the special forces-"

"You mean a joint exercise, right?"

"Ah, an' there a Colonel got 'imself shot in de face. One of de bunch was there when it happened but nobod' believ'im when he said dat he saw a Japanese man wit' spiky head an' black coat had killed de Colonel. Hadn't had enough proof if he l'ed or not but de poor fella got 'imself thrown out cause it'd be a huge scandal." the bartender sighed taking a mug of his own and drowning its content down his throat "What a buncha idiots. Left the SDF as if it'd get easier if they did merc work overseas. Miss 'em but at leas' they show 'emselves every once ina while. An' den one op them got killed ina explosion." he motioned to the article "Got dat hanging cause dats the last time 'is name got mentioned in da news."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Na, 'ts fine. You didn't hav' it easy either reght?" a boastful laughter in which a whole lot of the drunks joined in. the red head watched the scene before joining in with a chuckle. The atmosphere got more relaxed and the people started to sing about the bartender. He watched the cheerful and teary expressions understanding that this place was needed. Then the bartender extended a hand to him.

"Wanna hav' a room? Gotta bet ya want to rest a littl' ain' it after a tough night?" he said with a smile. A smile formed on the red head's lips before he accepted the hand.

"Bey the way, what'cha called?"

The red head looked at him but before he could answer the bartender showed him a goofy smile before literally pulling his nose softly. "Doesn' matter, get yerself up and rest for de night!"

Not knowing how to react to such a reaction he remained stoic before taking the man up on his offer and walked towards the far east side of the room where a door was leading upstairs. Another guest turned to the bartender half as drunk as the rest of the guests.

"Are ya sure 'bout that?" the bartender turned to him laughing a little.

"Kid's got 'onest eyes, gotta trust dat at least."

* * *

Upstairs in the only room that wasn't occupied by a drunk and his nightly pick-up, a ferret mating with a pig and Solomon Grundy laughing at the guests from his portrait up the roof with a half eaten breakfast on his plate and a sword in his left hand, the red haired man sat down on the surprisingly clean bed. He put the waste bin in front of him after emptying its content on the floor before vomiting the earlier consumed alcohol into it. After finishing his business he collected the waste again and put it into the bin. Once he was finished the glass sword which was his Master's new form appeared in front of him. Taking the face he pushed the tip of the sword into the bin until it hit the lowest point.

"I am not as kind as to let a murderer like you walk around the streets and cause more suffering. But I'm not nearly as idealistic as to believe you could ever change. Change takes time. You however were born like that. Curse your upbringing, your ancestors or yourself that you became such a deformed mess of a human being. Suffer, and when this War is over I will throw you into the nearest police cell and let them execute you. Until then you will remain like this, I will feed you anything that will provide Mana and I mean _anything._ " He said before letting the sword disappear as it appeared and laid down on the bed.

Sleep wasn't needed but rest was necessary for any individual to function in an orderly fashion especially considering his _Master_ couldn't provide enough to sustain his form. Rest was the most logical way to recover Magical Energy even if it wasn't mandatory, especially since the other method had far too many risks. Therefore he closed his eyes and let his mind wander...Encountering a shadow...

* * *

The next day, yet even before the first rays of light touched the ground, he left the building with his eyes hidden under his hair. He stretched out his hands as if to embrace the fact that nobody in the bar would remember him, taking their memories lifting them from behind his back and letting them fall onto the ground like snow in winter. To anyone who could have seen it, they would have thought an angel had descended.

Too ensure that he was adequately prepared for the upcoming fights in the war he walked around the town for a few hours. The sun rose from the gusty coast, raising fast to greet the people in the city with its radiance. He opted to mapping every street he walked through into his memory, until he arrived at a park where he took note of everything in the air, especially a certain scent that had driven him to come here. A large crowd had gathered around a shop, mostly old ladies, young folks who had decided to skip school and police men.

He had felt a slight spike of energy coming from that direction last night.

Walking past the crowd he circled around to look at a bookstore with a destroyed security shutter. He got closer until he reached the security tape. The metallic shutter looked as if it was hit by a large object from the inside making the material bend outwards with parts close to the center of the impact immediately ripping apart. But from the looks of it the one responsible had stepped down the lower part of the shutter while he walked outside, as if to show that he had conquered something. From the way the energy signature was fluctuating he could guess that the person was driven by greed and pride. Not a good combination considering that the crime was done last night and it hadn't disappeared.

The people were talking about how a few books and maps were stolen but a policeman shushed the crowd away before any more information was leaked. The red head looked at the officer, a young Japanese man with short blackhair that spiked beneath his cap, who wore a light blue standardized shirt, dark blue pants and a dark blue police cap. His face was thin, meaning he hasn't eaten much lately or he tended to vomit, while the bags under his eyes indicated that he didn't sleep much. In fact his eyes had a perculiar blue hue inside of them. Also notable were his fingernails that appeared to have been bitten off regularly. But what the red head saw were the low sighs the man did, as if he was relieved that the crime this time had nothing to do with whatever was worrying him.

"You are looking for a muscular man around 190 cm tall." Caster voiced to the policeman who stared at the red head in a confused manner. Understandably since a stranger was talking to him with accusations that sounded strange to the ears.

"Excuse me, Sir? Could you repeat what you just said?" the police man asked while the red head repeated his earlier thoughts, excluding the magical elements, concerning the modi operandi of the criminal.

"But that doesn't mean it had to be a muscular man..." the police man argued but the red head denied that with a dismissive hand gesture.

"Look at the lower parts of the shutter, there you should find a foot print of someone who should weight a few dozen pounds. If you consider that the hole looks more ripped then bent over, that could mean a strong person punched against it, right? Haven't you heard that a number of martial artists have been proven to possess approximately 1ton force, all of them with body types of what I had just described to you. And I bet there aren't that many who fit that description in the city, right? You should be able to find a person matching description easily."

"Well, yeah." the policeman paused, contemplating what he should do. Normally an officer shouldn't take a civilian's opinions too serious until farther evidence could back the accusations- especially since he should really pull out his notepad and write down what he just heard- but since this policeman was young and sleep deprived his judgment and general senses could be easily manipulated.

"Could you at least tell me your name, I need to verify your claim with my senior." the officer asked at least.

"Of course, my name is Mitsudaira Kindaichi, a private detective." the red head said. The policeman nodded while writing the name on a notepad before trotting towards a senior officer. They talked a bit while the older one looked over to the red head. Once their conversation was over the two of them walked to Caster.

"I appreciate your efforts but I don't see a reason for a private eye to show up at the theft of a few books." the older of the two policemen said. He had a hard face with slightly graying hair and brown pupils. His face was less sleep derived than his colleague but the frown on his face indicated that it got to him just as bad. The officer's back was straight while his pose remained regal. A man with a sense for justice.

"What kind of books?" the red head asked instead. The two policemen looked at each other, unsure if they should tell it to him or not but the elder looked at him again. Experience must have thought that man something.

"Kindaichi-san, may I ask you why you are interested in this case?"

"I found clues to the serial murder of families in rural areas." he stated at which the younger policeman nearly jumped "Apparently the murderer operated not solo, I found evidence that he received instructions after a certain point in time, however only after his first couple of murders…" he said bringing his left hand up to his face before looking with determination at the officers, "I have been hunting those monsters for such a long time but…now I finally got a lead…A small but very important lead…"

The younger policeman stepped back a little while their colleagues started to gather around them, probably to see what all the fuss was about. All of them were taken aback that someone found clues to that important case and started to mumur with each other about what that meant.

"So," the older policeman asked "that clue…Where have you found it?"

Caster looked at the gathering crowd of policemen, he turned his head slightly feeling a spike in energy not far from him. He contemplated, he could stay here and talk to the officers to receive information while also risking to be discovered by a potential Master or…

"Would you bring me to your office?" he asked politely, surprising the younger officer but not his senior. The older man motioned for the men behind him to continue their work before walking towards the park's entrance.

"There are many things we need to discuss," the older one said looking at the red head with hard eyes while they walked to the car "especially concerning your involvement with this case."

* * *

The ride was silent. He was sitting in a dark blue colored vehicle with blue lights and a speaker on the top and a red light in the middle with the senior officer driving and the younger looking a little out of place. The older policeman looked at him through the front mirror every so often while his colleague kept his eyes in front of him. The city they passed wasn't very populated, safe for the financial and shopping districts, otherwise there wasn't much too take note of since the city was for the most part Urban. Around the whole town a large forest spread hiding away the things not allowed to be seen by the general public. Then Caster felt a spike in energy at least half a kilometer away from his current position. A servant was running through the town, his presence provocative. Either a very confident Servant or a naive Master...

Then his eyes took note of a large building with a rich glass facade "That building" he started to say which got the attention of the others.

"That is the Fuyuki Hayatt Building , a five star hotel that was build by one of the town founders to get more tourists to visit the city." the younger officer said with a strange tone in his voice. Not missing that his colleague let his left hand lift from the steering wheel to pat the man's shoulder.

They got out of the car once they had arrived at their destination. The red head looked at the six stories tall building in front of them. It had a gray colored exterior with black trims around the windows, while the entrance was mostly made of glass and a roof showcasing the cities name and logo. It had a sophisticated look to it with the block like structure of the construct. Seeing as the senior officer and his colleague were moving towards the building he opted to follow them.

Until his eyes laid on a young girl running towards the older man.

The girl had brown hair tied in a pony tail, wore a jersey and from the looks of it…bloomers…but what made him notice her was the man she had grabbed by the collar and dragged behind her - the man had a bump on his headand foam appeared to gather around his mouth - before coming to a halt right in front of the senior.

For a moment it looked like they were having a staring contest, time the red head took to catch up to the men before he heard the sighs of the younger officer, muttering under his breath that it happened again. Curiously he looked at the girl.

Said girl then smiled "Uncle! Look, I found another pervert!" she energetically screamed lifting the man by the collar up. The older officer smiled, lifted his hand towards the girl's head…before grabbing her skull and lifting her off the ground with hisgrip alone.

"You mischievous little brat, how many times do I need to tell you that its the job of the police to grab criminals." he said calmly but the brunette only squealed in glee while flailing her arms - which certainly did onot help the unconscious criminal. The red head remained stoic to that display while the younger officer held a hand to his face.

The officer then sighed with a light chuckle escaping his lips. He let the girl down and patted her head "At least you do the right thing," he said taking hold of the man the girl captured "I'll interrogate him later, thank you for your continued assistance Miss Fujimura." he said while saluting.

The girl beamed at this while presenting her own energetic salute "Thank you very much Inspector Fujimura!"

She bowed before trotting off to who knows where. Caster watched the girl wave one last time at the _Inspector_ who waved back. Once she was out of sight the older man motioned for the other two to follow him. Caster he watched the man's straight back and remembering someone.

Inside officers left and right were working on their respective cases or drank coffee together. The office was arranged in squares with each higher ranked officer in the station to have his own desk. Plastic walls separated suspects from police while large file cabinets were placed at the corners. The three of them walked past most of them. Judging from their faces most of them were in their thirties and probably had not seen many calm nights for a few weeks. Some wore dark blue jackets with decorations typical for police man of higher ranks.

"Oh Fujimura, going out as an Officer again?" one of the more higher ranked looking officers spoke, judging by the decorations on his jacket and the way the man carried himself, the Chief Inspector. He had combed back his hair that was slightly graying, wore glasses and a yellow tie with gold trimming, instead of the standard blue one.

"The people relax more if you aren't showing off, look at that fancy jacket of yours. How many times have I told you not to try and impress the girls from road control, they aren't interested in old geezers like us!" the Inspector answered receiving a jacket from one of the sitting policemen. Most of the people who heard him were laughing while the Chief Inspector gave him a friendly smile.

"Says the guy who doesn't tell his grandniece that she shouldn't do police work, or what else could the guy you're dragging behind you be?"

"Oh this?" he lifted the criminal up by the collar looking into his face, the man squeak like a pig "Explain to me how adult men aren't able to do something as simple as arresting a public offender when a girl half their age could?" he countered before throwing the pervert into the waiting arms of a policeman who put cuffs around the man's hands.

"Let's put pleasantries aside; did you go to that petty book theft with Mori instead of the murder scene I told you to?" the Chief asked with a glare walking up to the Inspector who glared back with a frown on his face "And who is that gentleman that is accompanying you?"

Finally registering that he was there the rest of the station that had nothing better to do stared at the red head. He remained stoic.

"He is a private detective who wanted to contribute to our _case_." The inspector said not letting his gaze shift. Both man gave each other acknowledging nods before the Chief walked past him. The man's eyes then darted towards the red head not looking at him but still giving a greeting of sorts.

"Welcome to our little Horror show" the man said cryptically although his words were spoken in an aggressive way. He red head looked after the Chief with mild interest before Inspector Fujimura tapped his shoulder, motioning him to follow.

They took an elevator to get on the forth floor then walked towards the interrogation rooms.

"We still haven't introduced ourselves have we?" the Inspector said once they got into a room. The red head walked to the nearest chair sitting down and listened.

"My name is Fujimura Saika, the idiot over there is my partner Mori Kogoro" he motioned to the younger officer who scratched his neck out of embarrassment "Well, he's more an apprentice than partner."

"I can relate. Then again I didn't expect that luck was on my side when I decided to speak up."

"Luck or misfortune, depending on what you're going to tell us." Fujimura said sitting down himself.

"You are so kind, going out with your apprentice to a theft to get his mind off the murder case you were assigned to." the red head said taking out a lollipop from his pocket, unwrapped it before putting the whole thing into his mouth, the tip of the stick began to smoke.

"How are you doing that?" the younger asked when he saw the candy catch fire.

"This lollipop contains so much sugar that it smokes." Caster said as if he didn't have a large piece of candy in his mouth. The policemen looked at him with blank expressions before the younger one looked to his senior.

"Back to business" the Inspector said, while Mori hung his shoulders "You are quiet perceptive aren't you?"

"Of course. In my business you need to have a keen eye out for anything that might be suspicious."

"The murder?"

"I was in three of the nineteen scenes, those were the later crimes except for the one last night. I tried to get files for the remaining ones but the police wouldn't give me any at the time so I got most of my information from brokers."

"The one yesterday happened around midnight, probably before. The forensic team is still trying to figure out whether the corpses were mutilated before or after they died."

"Probably before, considering that we have got to do with a sadistic Psychopath with Paraphilias if not Pedophile tendencies."

The Inspector leaned back "I thought the same but the criminals behavior do not seem to be of the sexual type. He enjoys the power he has over his victims but that doesn't explain the brutality he displays towards some Corpses as well as the care he puts on others. In some cases he even shows a sense of innocence which unnerves me more than it should."

"How many have shown signs of resistance or signs of having attempted to escape from him? Do we know of people who saw him leave the crime scene or do his actions towards the corpses not speak of Piquerism, with the way the bodies were torn apart? Weren't there special cases of Victims-"

"Who had more injuries than others? Yes and no. He pays more attention to the children than the adults with how carefully their bodies are dissected."

"No fingerprints?"

"Not usable, we only have strands of hair that we found on the adults, hence why we believe that he doesn't care for his older victims."

"Weren't the children cut open around the belly? Maybe he searched for something?"

"Possible, but what he searched for only he would know. Then again I doubt he was trying to find anything considering that he does those things to boys as well, so we can rule out him trying to find preteen pregnancy." Mori's eyes bulged "Then again he might as well have searched for the essence of youth or innocence."

"Then let's return to my earlier assumption that he was working together with someone. Half of the things the unsub did, do not make sense considering the way each murder was handled. If we assume that the perpetrator is the same as the one who killed the victims."

"We can assume that he is, since we couldn't find evidence that there was another person."

"The other person doesn't need to be present. The one who committed the brutalities could have been giving instructions from far away say from a public phone or letters."

"We did find pieces of paper in some of the blood puddles." the Senior paused then scratched his chin "If there really was a second person and he was giving Instructions, wouldn't he want prove that his helper really did commit _that_?"

"What about the strange markings that were found at the scene?" the officers looked at him "It was running in the news, which made me wonder how it was possible that this information was leaked to the public especially considering how the Japanese Police usually operates behind closed doors."

"We thought he was trying to perform some kind of satanist ritual." the younger one objected until the red head pulled out an old book from his breast pocket. The cover was withered away by time and the pages looked so fragile that they might fall apart from too much preassure. But what was most striking were the splatters of blood on the cover. He handed the book to Fujimura who took it and inspected its content by flowing over the pages with his eyes. Formulas, drawings of ingredients and phrases resembling macabre poetry. Most importantly were the phrases talking about summoning and the way certain words were written.

"A cultist?" the Inspector guessed leaning farther back, laying the book on the table between them "I take that is the clue you wanted to show us."

"Correct, I found it not far from the crime scene you were at, although discarded in a bush which makes me assume they threw it away. Or they intended to shift the police attention to whoever finds it. Thankfully I believe its the former since I got it from a little girl with dark hair in twin tails in a red dress, sadly a description that fits far too many children at that age."

Fujimura paused, then handed the book to his colleague "Get this to the forensics team, make them determine how old everything in this book is."

"Uhm, pardon?" Mori asked before he got a glare from both men.

"Make them find out how old the paper is, then how long the ink has been dry in the material and at what state of decay this blood on the cover is, ten let them run a check on certain phrases, spellings, words, signs anything tof importance or that catches their eyes. We don't know yet if it is real or a cheap attempt to make the police run after a red herring." the Inspector said "Go, now."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

After Mori left, the two men looked at each other. The older one leaned back on his seat while the red head remained stoic. They were looking for any signs of what the other was thinking.

"What are your real intentions?" Fujimura asked.

"To find a cult."

"A cult? Does this have to do with the markings that we found at the scene?" the red head nodded "Why are you looking for them, should they exist at all?"

"To make them stop whatever they are doing. Their activities aren't as subtle as you would believe and there are a few things that prove their existence outside of the markings or killings."

"I see. How did you find out about them."

"Per accident. Or to be more precise, it was the moment I learned about the disappearing children, their murder and how these circles appeared at the crime scene. It reminded me of a similar case from around ten years ago. I didn't get too involved myself but at the time many people died."

"I see, that would explain a few things but the more pressing matter would be that Matsudaira Kindaichi isn't your real name, is it?"

"It is a codename. One does not reveal ones true name without risking noisy ears."

"Affiliation? Do you work with a larger network or…"

"It's more about personal preservation, the last time I got involved," the red head lifted his left hand, pulling the sleeve down his elbow featuring a large scar that went that exact length, "I got this as a souvenir."

The Inspector grimaced at the sight of the scar before sighing. Then he took off his hat and placed it in front of him. A sad smile spread on his lips before it got replaced by a frown. "So you can't trust anyone until you are absolutely certain that this cult doesn't know of your existence."

The red head paused "I knew the moment I saw you that you were an intelligent person."

"Takes one to know one." the old man laughed lightly "So, what is your take on this situation?"

"You either believe I'm insane, the criminal or someone trying to divert your attention elsewhere with some other form of ulterior motive. The first is simple, I could be someone with high intelligence but poor judgment who thinks of himself higher than others. The second is also obvious, if I were the criminal I could take part in the investigation to divert attention away to prove my innocence. The third one would be the possibility of me being a foreign agent who tries to indirectly divert the police attention because the culprit belongs to my country or is a fugitive. However I do believe that you believe me when I say that I want to stop this."

"Then I need more information. Do you have clues to who they are, what they want or why they do it?"

"From what I could gather, _this,_ " motioning to the ground, " - this has taken place several times. Families with large influence gather at a place in set intervals. Each time people die and each time the government does not do anything to prevent these horrible things. The last time I got away with a few scars and missing organs, but I was one of the lucky ones. What about the victims who got dragged into this? They die without knowing anything."

"So you want help?"

"I don't want help. Not now."

Mori reentered the room. "I delivered the book to forensics" he said before noticing how tense the atmosphere in the room was. Fujimura turned to him with sharp eyes which made the younger man salute out of instinct.

"How long until we get results."

"They said tomorrow or the day after." Mori answered instantly.

"I see." he looked back at the red head ignoring his protege "How old are you?"

"29"

"Have you committed the murder?"

"No"

"Do you know who did it?"

"Yes, but I can't hand him over to you yet."

"Do you know how many are involved?"

"No specifics but I've got a few guesses."

"So basically nothing."

"Yes."

"A cup of coffee and some breakfast?" Fujimura asked standing up from his seat to put on his jacket and hat.

"With lots of sugar and a beacon sandwich." the red head answered also leaving his seat.

Both men walked past Mori who stood there not moving an inch, both saying as they left the room "It's your treat Officer Kogoro." with a dismissive tone.

The younger officer turned his head slowly, his eyes wide open and his mouth hanging, as he watched the men leaving him behind, his eyebrows rose critically high while sweat formed on his palms.

"What did just happen?" he asked into the room but there was no answer for him.

* * *

-7

* * *

When they returned to the lowest floor some of the officers doing paper work turned and greeted the Inspector while others gave nods. The older officer ignored most of them until he reached the office room of the Chief Inspector. Said man was preparing to leave though he took a long last look at a picture before turning to his colleague.

"Fujimura."

"Chief." Inspector Fujimura motioned to the red head who accompanied him silently "This young man will be working with us to solve the case of mass murder in Fuyuki City." then he leaned forward whispering something that the Caster wasn't intended to hear.

The Chief pushed his glasses up, took a look at the red haired man before sighing "As long as he helps us solve the case without getting in our way. You can have free reign over this case. Just, do me the favor and get that bastard!"

"Language, sir."

"Oh, shut it you old fox!"

Both officers laughed before saluting. The Inspector motioned for the red head to follow him while the Chief called out to his men to rush out to arrest that wandering psychopath and get him behind steel bars.

He accompanied Inspector Fujimura to his car nearly leaving behind a still irritated Mori who cursed under his breath. The younger officer watched both men in front of him with mixed feelings while the white clothed man gave him a short glance.

"Do you have somewhere to stay at?" the older officer asked while pulling his coat tighter together in front of him.

"No."

"Then stay at my place. the only one who visits is that midget of a niece and she only comes on weekends."

"Thank you very much."

Both men then entered the car while Mori shook his head.

The ride from the Police Station to the nearest restaurant took less than five minutes but once they arrived the streets appeared to have thinned in width. Between the buildings were lanterns hung up on strings that were nailed into the concrete on each side. On each side where various stalls with different colored signs hung up.

The inspector drove to the nearest parking lot before halting and getting out. Mori did the same while the red head was allowed out of the backseats by Fujimura. The older man then lead the others along a narrow road close to a dark alleyway where dozens of bikes were chained together.

The restaurant was a good five hundred meters up a hill with large amounts of loose bricks lifting from the ground. Had they drove it up in the car, it would have killed the tires the red head thought while looking at the proud strides of the officer in front of him.

The man then threw off his jacket, carrying it on his left arm before entering a Chinese restaurant. he greeted the reception in Mandarin, then lifted three fingers, the order was for three people.

Choosing a nice seat away from the open kitchen the three men sat down on each side of the table. Both policemen sat on the opposite side of the red head, placing their hats on the table before Mori started to groan.

"You just had to drag us here, again?"

"The food is cheap, the cook good and the lady at the reception likes me and gives me a few extra things when no one is looking. I don't see the problem." he said just as said lady came over to them with glasses on a tray. She handed each of them a drink before excusing herself. Fujimura immediately drowned the treat while Mori was more reluctant.

"We're still on duty." he said but the older man gave him a pat on the back.

"It's just plum juice. nothing alcoholic, remember?" he answered but the younger officer didn't drink. Seeing it as a waste the red head drank his own glass dry before grabbing the younger officers and drowning it at well.

"I wanted to do that." Fujimura protested, placed his glass on the table without a noise however while Mori shook his head.

"What did you order anyway?" he asked with serious eyes.

"Your favorite: Dog tails on noddles and garlic." the older officer answered while his neighbor threw his hands in the air "Of course I'm joking. I ordered a sandwich for our new colleague and got the two of us Wang tang soup."

"How long do we need to wait?" the red head asked remaining as stoic as Fujimura was during their whole exchange.

"Around ten minutes."

"Isn't that a little too fast?"

"I already said that the cook was good."

.

* * *

.

"You were not exaggerating when you said the cook was good. I didn't expect to see the food so fast and so lovingly prepared." when he and Fujimura left the Restaurant both of them didn't say anything. Officer Mori was left behind to pay for their relatively large servings, which they took three of, especially since the red head decided to have the same as them for dessert - a sickeningly sweet rice cake. All in all they spent a good two hours just devouring large servings of food.

"Any plans for today?" the red head asked, noon was over already but the older man didn't answer.

"I want to go for a walk."

He looked back at the restaurant wondering if they should tell the younger officer but Inspector Fujimura already began walking down the hill from which they came from.

"It's private then" the red head muttered following after.

At first they walked down the hill, then the senior lead them right into an alley. On the other side they had a nice view on a local traditional Japanese cemetery. Tall stones with family names, dates and the last wishes of those who died plastered on them towered on a stone pedestal and a very small bowl or offerings in front of it- Walking past the buildings both of them walked through the rows of grave stones, halting once they reached one without a name.

They stood in front of the stone without a word just giving their respects while Fujimura placed piece of paper on the offering plate.

"This is the unofficial gravestone for those who died of unnatural causes. Nobody knew their names nor could they be identified since their fingers and teeth disappeared. Those Yankees are working on DNA analysis but it isn't usable on the field here yet. Some police we are, not even able to tell the families that they had lost their children, partners or whatnot."

"Don't take the blame."

"I won't. But it made me think. I knew something was going on in this town but nobody knows anything. Nobody seems to remember and that is what gets me. Even this graveyard was nearly forgotten had I not found it many years ago." Fujimura looked at the grave saluting to those who were no more "Some of these families don't even exist anymore..."

The red head looked around, noticing how most of the graves were still covered in moss and dirt. Outwards only a small number of graves were cleaned, the farther they got from the town the more those gravestones disappeared in the wilderness. His eyes turned back to the saluting Inspector, the man was clearly thinking. Then his gaze shifted to the paper that now laid in front of it.

"I wanted to write a letter to them," the Inspector started once he noticed the red head's gaze "but every time I tried to think of words none came to mind, even though it's the police's duty to solve every case."

Both of them went past the grave to go towards a well not far from where they stood. There were two buckets, only one without any vegetation growing out of it, with brushes next to them. They each took a brush after filling up the good basket before walking towards the nameless grave. Fujimura walked up to the grave taking his brush to clean the main stone while the red head started to scrub the ground around it.

They spent an hour cleaning, ignoring the stains on their clothes, only continuing doing what needed to be done. With care and patience the men managed to make the hard and uneven surface shine a little in the sun. Despite their efforts, both knew that they weren't going to be thanked, nor will they be remembered either. Putting away their tools both men stood in front of the grave once again, both holding their hands in a prayer.

When they got back to the car, Mori was leaning against the carcase, his cap hiding his eyes. He pulled the car keys out with his index finger, spinning it before catching the object. Fujimura threw off his jacket, discarding it on the backseat next to the red head once they got in. The men were silent during the whole ride.

Afternoon was knocking on the door.

"What do you think happened to those who are forgotten?" Fujimura asked both, not expecting an answer while they stared at Fujuki City.

They had driven to the highest mountain street, stopping at a parking lot to oversee the entire area. Far to the sea were the harbor and airport. Not far from it the entire shopping district covered the ground before being replaced by the finance offices and the Police Station. Then entire city blocks filled with single family houses and apartment buildings. Just barely the frame of a castle was visible in the woods far to the right of them while entire manors were build on the opposite side of the city.

"They die." the red head answered putting another lollipop into his mouth, which promptly ignited "Because those who are forgotten are truly dead."

The Inspector nodded while the younger officer couldn't say anything.

"Do you know why I took you out today instead of going to where the Chief Inspector told us to?" Fujimura asked, but the question wasn't directed towards the red head.

"To make me more relaxed?" Officer Mori asked playing with his fingers while the sun slowly moved towards the sea. The inspector patted him on the back which made him look up, brown eyes looked at him telling him something he wasn't sure of nor understood.

"Close" the Inspector answered "Kid, how many times did you threw up since last week?" the younger policeman looked down.

"How many times did you stay awake out of fear to see those scenes play out in your mind?" shoulders slugged down farther.

"You are still not used to those things, and you probably will never be." eyes looked up "The only thing you can do is take your mind off those matters and have a day without any worries, that's what our vacation is for." Fujimura said also patting his protege on the back "Get stronger, that is the only thing you can do if you want to continue this line of work, but never forget not to forget yourself. That is the last thing that you want."

"It is a nice city" the red head said making the other two look at the sight before of them.

"One of the reasons why I can't leave." the old man admitted "This sight alone is enough to make me stay. It is the city I was born in and it will be the city I will die."

"Have you never thought of going away, you did get transferred to Tokyo once." Mori asked "Maybe they'll reassign you where people would appreciate your efforts and let you do your work without telling you that you can't do the right thing because the wner of the land doesn't want you to-."

"Never."

The younger officer looked at him, seeing the pride on his face and the smile that graced his lips. Then he looked back at the city. He never got used to the sight of the setting sun, it always felt like something ominous was happening without them even noticing it. The police was never able to capture anyone without resorting to extreme force somehow always killing the fugitive instead of arresting them. And then there where those foreigners acting as if the land was theirs, bribing officers with casual donations while scheming something beneath the surface. And worst of all was that feeling of helplessness that creeped up whenever they failed to safe anyone and the regret at not even remembering those who disappeared.

He never understood what the old man saw in the city.

* * *

The night was setting. Full moon was rising in the sky while everyone without a 24 hour job circle was returning to their homes. Same went for Mori who parted with the others after they returned to the station. Of course only after they got scolded by the Chief Inspector for tardiness. The red head apologized as well without batting an eyelash while Fujimura joked that he went picking up trash instead of criminals.

The Inspector drove both of them to an old style Japanese mansion with wooden face and plate with his name on it. When he drove to the nearest garage the old man didn't speak up and instead focused his eyes on the red head when they halted.

"Don't be surprised" he said while accompanying his guest towards the house next to the mansion instead. The red head looked at the fence briefly, then to the name on the plate. Following after the old man he entered the house, taking off his shoes at the front and accompanied Fujimura into the living room.

A four tatami floor room with a kettle in the middle above an oven and a square shaped light dangling from the roof. The house wasn't very big, probably two stories tall with wooden floors and and white walls barely thicker than paper. Large cabinets towered in the hallway with pictures of the house owner in his younger years, his colleagues, his niece and a large group of people who looked like the Japanese Mafia.

The Inspector pulled off his jacket, hanging it in his closet, before turning back to his guest. The old man motioned for him to follow after, leading up a pair of stairs before coming to a halt in front of a paper door.

"It isn't much, but for the mean time I'll allow you to use it." he said before leaving the red head in a small square shaped room with a window on the north side "A Futon is in the closet, I expect that you know how to sleep in one." the red head nodded.

"Want to have some tea?" Fujimura asked but his guest already began to set up his resting place, grabbing a few extra cushions and laying them neatly next to each other close to where his head was going to rest. The old man watched in amusement how the white clothed man sorted each pillow after size and color while keeping the futon neatly placed in the middle of the room.

"I'd like to rest for a while, maybe I'll join you later when your next shift starts." he said with a smile laying down on his new bed with a soft thud. He turned around to lay on his side while his right arm was placed beneath his head.

"8 pm then, if I don't see you at that time down in the living room I am going to throw a bucket full of water on your sleepy ass." the men laughed before bidding each other a "See you later."

.

.

.

* * *

The first confrontation happened.

It took place close to the sea on a small concrete harbor with cargo neatly staked atop and next to each other, while the moon was hiding behind a layer of dark clouds. The Servant of Swords clashed with the the Servant of Lances in a wild fray of violent thrusts.

The Sword wielder appeared to be a young woman with blond hair, fair skin and green eyes clad in a blue dress protected by silver armor. The weapon she wielded was clad in air making it invisible. Behind her stood a maiden with silver hair, red eyes and was clothed in a white outfit with matching hat. The woman was barely taller than the Servant although she appeared more frail then anything else.

The Lance wielder held two lances in his hands, both covered with in rune decorated bandages hiding the weapons identities. He had black hair, yellow eyes with a beauty spot under one of them. His clothing was a tight dark colored fitting leather armor which only left his neck slightly exposed. There was no one behind nor around him other than the blond but the faint silhouette of a man atop a warehouse roof close by could be made out. The man hid in the shadows but his white skin and blond hair couldn't be masked well in the darkness.

Lancer rushed forward, thrusting his longer spear forward meeting Saber's sword midway. The second lance neared the blond's face but the sword wielder evaded with a swift backstep before swinging her sword in an arc sideways. That resulted in Lancer jumping backwards while readying his weapons at his hips once again.

A command from the man hidden in the shadows made him remove the bandages around the longer lance while dropping his second before his feet. Below the cloth was a red colored lance surrounded by an aura of dread, _Probably cursed_ , making a rush towards Saber who parried the weapon with her own only for the invisibility to be stripped off from her sword revealing a golden light.

That exchange took place in an instance yet it was more than enough for any spectator to guess what the blond's legend was.

He stood high in the air on a broad sword, probably a kilometer or two off the ground to have a good view on the surrounding while also analyzing the danger each of his opponents could possess. Despite his cautions he knew that a red haired muscular man in Greek armor and red cape floating behind him was aware of another spectator watching the bout. Or at least he could assume such considering that the bridge that man was at was around two to three kilometers away.

His attention was drawn back to the exchange of words between Lancer and Saber, he could have guessed by the appearance that the dark haired one was of Irish origin, take into account the two spears and anybody with enough knowledge about Irish myths could have suspected the First Knight of Fianna to have been summoned into the Lancer Class. Not helping was the love spot beneath his eyes which should have been a dead give away.

Same couldn't be said about Saber. Even to the educated it would have been a shock to know that the King of Camelot was a woman. He wasn't, it was in the realm of possibility after all, which didn't change the fact that this person was still the strongest Servant in the contest so far.

Despite that Lancer didn't change his opinion much concerning his opponent, even preparing himself to challenge the Sword wielder to a show down.

Saber pointed her sword backwards, launched herself off the ground with enormous speed while causing a large burst of Prana to be released from her sword to accelerate farther revealing the golden blade hidden behind invisible air. The force tore apart the concrete while also crossing the distance between the combatants at an alarming speed. Yet Lancer was prepared.

Outside of the fight Caster noticed that the Servant on the bridge got up, the muscle man too did not forget that Lancer discarded his second lance for this very moment. The lance wielder in that moment decided to lift the weapon off the ground with his foot, grabbed it and attempted to behead the blond.

Noticing far too late that her opponent had planned this she spun her body around, with an additional boost from her sword, to avoid the thrusting weapon only for it to scratch her left wrist. Considering that the spear that injured her caused lasting never healing damage, it was safe to assume that Saber couldn't use her final weapon anymore, therefore making her less dangerous.

The red haired muscle head rushed through the sky directly towards the cargo bay where the fight took place, riding on a chariot pulled by two electrified bulls.

He was invisible for a while now not wanting the newcomer to notice him while drifting his eyes towards the other spectators on the bay. Two people were hiding in the shadows carrying firearms instead of mystic codes as he would usually assume, one of them male while the other was female. The male one had dark spiky hair wearing a black trench coat, he held a semi automatic rifle in front of him with night vision attached to the scope, directing his attention towards the blond man in the shadows. This meant that he was a potential ally to the Saber/Maiden team which made him an unknown factor, although his appearance was very similair to on he had seen not to long ago. The woman was similarly clothed in dark but without the coat, she held onto an assault rifle readying it at the third spectator. Until farther notice he won't interact with them but it was interesting to see a cloaked person sitting on the crane with a white skull knit on its face.

Until the red bearded muscle head slammed into the ground between Saber and Lancer, proudly announcing his name and class for the war as if it was someone else problem.

"I am the King of Conquerors Iskander the Great! Behold Servants of the Holy Grail War, for I have been summoned into the Rider Class!" the bearded man looked with a wide childish grin at all the people he could look at, while his supposedly Master was staring at him with a baffled face. A young boy probably still in his teens, who appeared not even half the size of his Servant. The Master wore a dark green pullover paired with a dark blue jeans and brown shoes while the most prominent feature was his black hair.

"Join me o warriors! Together we shall conquer the world anew!" the fool announced throwing his arms with a triumphant grin plastered on his face. Making both him floating in the air and his Master cover their faces. The other two Servants immediately refused, Lancer having already promised his life to his Master while Saber announced her own King-hood concerning Britain. The hulking man let his arms slump down even promising to negotiate yet the others violently refused.

It was in that moment that the man hiding on the roof raised his voice to speak with the boy in Rider's chariot.

"Waver Velvet. I should have known that you have stolen my Catalyst." the man said with an haughty voice that nearly came from everywhere "Since you have come so far, why should I not teach you how real Magi duel."

"Kayneth!" the boy whispered recognizing the tone while stepping backwards. Through the menace of those words the boy cowered, nearly hiding behind Rider's coat but a hand on his head and a reassuring smile from Rider greeted his fright. The bearded man then turned his attention to Lancer's Master screaming for the world to hear.

"So you were supposed to be my Master? Ha! I am grateful that I wasn't summoned by someone as you! Because in my eyes," he patted the boy's back "- this lad is a far more befitting Master to me than you could have ever been!"

Growling under his breath Lancer's Master was about to unleash his furry but the King of Conquerors screamed once more, angering the hidden man farther.

"Show yourself Servants for I have spoken!" the man screamed "You as well my friend up there!"

At least the fool was perceptive, Caster thought as he contemplated what he was going to do.

"Saber, Lancer, your duel was splendid." Rider said turning his back to them while giving a thumbs up, also completely ignoring the still brooding Master of Lancer "But I wasn't the only Servant who wanted to witness such a fine duel."

Just as he said that a golden clad Servant appeared on top of a lamp. The armor was made of one torso covering uninterrupted golden material with two large shoulder pads made of the same material, around his golden armored legs he wore a red fabric while his golden hair stood up from his head. Red irises bore onto the battlefield with a scowl on his face.

"What an insult to hear that two of you even dare proclaim yourself to be the same as me ." he voiced with anger laced with arrogance "Know your place mongrel!"

Rider looked at him with raised eyebrows while massaging his beard "Why shouldn't I, I am known world wide as the King of Conquerors. Why not name yourself as well if you feel so insulted?"

"The fact that you do not even know my name despite my appearance is an insult." the golden clad Servant stated directing his anger especially at Rider.

* * *

 _-_ _ **Determine Current Level of stored Mana**_ _-_

* * *

The Golden clad Servant proceeded in his lecture with two golden ripples appearing behind him. From the ripples a spear and a sword came forth, golden and with an aura of nobility. Since this was probably the Servant of Bows it meant that he was capable of shooting those.

* * *

 _\- - Mana output approximately 12.1369 %- -_

* * *

Right as the Archer was about to go through with his threat, a black mass crashed right onto the battlefield. The ground shattered from the impact as it watched with an eery red eye all those that surrounded them. From the looks of it a cloud or mist of pure black particles disrupted the sense of sight making it for all those watching it unrecognizable except the fact that its silhouette, which was barely visible in the moonlight, appeared to be a medieval armor.

* * *

 _-_ _ **The amount needed for Noble Phantasms?**_ _-_

* * *

The cloaked being let out a loud scream directing everyone's attention on it.

"Berserker?!" Saber exclaimed while Lancer jokingly asked the King of Conquerors if he wanted to extend his invitation to the Servants of Madness.

"Nah, he doesn't seem like someone who listens." Rider answered scratching his beard while his Master tried to read his abilities. Prana was channeling in his eyes focusing his sight on it yet he shook his head in disbelieve.

"What's wrong boy?" Rider asked sounding slightly displeased but the boy continued to gawk. "I-I can't see anything…it's like there is some kind of smoke preventing me from reading his stats!"

 _He_ agreed, Berserker was unreadable _Probably a Noble Phantasm that conceals the identity, maybe a legendary knight who fell into disgrace and therefore had to conceal his face_ he thought nearly directing his attention on figuring out who the newcomers were, alas that wasn't his priority.

* * *

 _\- - Around 13.65 or 27.99993 %_

* * *

With the speed he was falling and his desired point of impact, he did have time to wonder why the others hadn't taken notice of Assassin. The Servant wasn't necessarily hiding its presence sitting on that crane in plain view, and considering that Rider was able to find him that easily, then it made no sense as to why they didn't notice the Servant of Shadows. Although, he concluded, they were probably more focused on the enemy in plain sight then the one with the least amount of power level.

* * *

 _\- - minimal use limited in case of emergencies 10.87%_

* * *

 _That should be enough_ he thought spinning one-eighty to let his feet be the lowest point of his body, the ground was greeting his sight more and more with each passing nanosecond. Instead of smoothing his landing he pulled back both legs while bending his body forward.

* * *

\- **Time until impact?**

* * *

All eyes that were present heard a booming noise from the sky and a figure clad in white falling towards the ground with enormous speed. The Masters couldn't process fast enough what was happening while the Servants stared at the newcomer with vary eyes. All besides Rider who instead grinned from ear to ear while the white one raced towards him. The bearded Servant went for his sword on the left side of his waist pulling it out of its sheath while a red haired man in white clothes was right above him.

* * *

 _\- - T-minus 0.12 seconds_

* * *

Their eyes met. The white clad thrusted forward with both his legs clashing with the blunt side of Rider's sword. The resulting impact caused a shock-wave that nearly threw the bearded man's Master off the chariot had it not been for Riders well placed hand on his back. Using the blade as a jumping board the white clad pushed himself into the air again spinning while his body did two pirouettes in the air before landing on the ground not far from the mounted Servant.

His body hunched forward grabbing into his chest pocket to pull out a lollipop. He unwrapped the good slowly putting the sweet treat into his mouth while letting his eyes wander towards all who were present one by one while he steadied his stance, although he avoided looking up at the golden clad one opting to bow slightly instead. A gesture which did not go unnoticed by the Servant of Bows.

"At least one of you knows his place and pays respect accordingly." Archer said while Rider continued to grin, his Master on the other hand was appearing considerably paler then before. Same could be said about the white haired woman standing behind Saber. The Servant of Swords had rushed to her side standing before her despite the unhealable wound on the blond's wrist.

"I know royalty when I see it, yet with your highness' it is more a matter of feeling your overwhelming presence then sight." the red head announced much to the golden clad pleasure but before he could voice anything the bearded king decided to extend his offer instead.

"So you finally decided to join us, and here I thought you would stay up in the skies until all of us were dead or had joined my army!" Rider spouted, immediately receiving glares from almost all the participants in this chaos – minus Berserker who acted oddly inactive.

The white clad looked at the King of Conquerors with a stoic expression on his face while the end of his candy stick ignited briefly before smoke rose from it "Before you ask; I refuse." the bearded king looked not the slightest bit surprised at that answer yet his eyes opened wide when he heard the following words.

"Despite saying that, since most of those present have revealed their true identities, let me share mine as well." Through the Servants eyes and ears, through their skin and souls their Masters listened to the sudden introduction, all absorbed by the nonchalant manner the red haired spoke in:

"Summoned into the Caster Class of the Forth Holy Grail War, Radius Aldria, at your service."

* * *

Inspector Fujimura sat on the floor, down in the living room. He didn't care that it was getting late since his next shift was starting soon anyway, instead he held a file in his hand which he would like to read once again. Within the file were articles and photos that looked rather worn out when he held them against the light. Placing a miniature dining table in front of him he laid the file down. Taking great care not to scatter the content while his careful eyes judged each and every file. When faced with a particular old photo, his eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to take it his cord phone rang.

Letting out a heavy sigh he stood up wondering why someone bothered at his hour, if it was an emergency good, but if it was something pointless then he was going to end the call right there. He had somewhat expected to hear the Chief Inspector's voice when he put the phone shell to his ear though.

" _You still up Fujimura?"_ the Chief asked with a sultry voice. The old Inspector raised an eyebrow when he heard his colleague talk like that.

"Yes, sir."

" _Remember what you had said this noon?"_

The old man stood up straight, he had not expected anything about that matter until the next day or later. If he considered that his Higher Up called this late than it could only mean…

"Yes, did they find something?"

" _You were right,"_ the Chief admitted sighing loudly _"_ _I hate it when you are right! You…how did you figure that out anyway, if it had been me I would have ignored that right away."_

"Heh, remember the private eye? He came up with that crazy assumption, all I had to do was figure out a connection."

" _But every sixty years? Do you know how many files I had to go through?"_

"Chief, it is not safe to talk over the phone about that, let me take our newcomer to the station. Are you still there?"

" _If I wasn't than I wouldn't have called. Hach, my children are going to hate me when I ever get to go home."_

"Don't worry, if you solve this case your brats are going to call you a hero for the rest of your life." Fujimura joked while the Chief agreed and joined him in his laughter. They didn't need to say anything and only needed to act now.

Once the call was finished, the Inspector walked to the guest room, he heard noise from the window and slightly suspected something. When he opened the paper door the red haired man in his usual white clothing sat against the window frame with a white file in his hand. It was the file about the current case which the man had probably gotten from the office once they had walked out.

"I take you heard everything?" the red head turned to him, nodding to the Inspector "Then let's get going, the night is still far too young to be over."

While the Inspector went down again to get dressed, Radius Aldria turned around to the window pressing a finger to his lips.

* * *

To be continued…


	2. The First Blood

The moment the Caster announced himself a wave of confusion ran through all spectators. Some roe their eyebrow while others stared indifferently. The Golden Archer watched the Spell-caster with mild interest although it was more akin to a look of pity.

Radius however just bowed and continued to confuse everyone present by simply doing nothing else. He lifted his head and placed both of his hands into his pockets while the smoke of his candy stick wafted into the air. "I apologize for the interruption, please continue." was all he said before the only insane one among them all moved.

The shrouded Berserker lifted his hand to strike at Radius only a couple of moments away from punching through the white clad Caster's head. Said Servant however leaned forward before the smoke from his stick ignited into myriads of brilliant flames shooting him backwards while also engulfing his attacker, before he spun around to hit a lamp with his legs pulled back.

Caster then reached behind him touching the crates once the lamp broke backwards from the force of his impact. The metal spun and caved inwards before the hilts of two swords formed. Radius gripped both of them and pulled them out – both blades formed from by using the material, taking on the color as well as a medieval design without hand guards.

"Boy, tell me his parameters." Iskander asked of his Master, his eyes never leaving the other red head as he pointed one of the newly formed swords at Berserker while keeping the other behind his back. The Master, still flabbergasted at what he is seeing quickly focused his Master vision onto the Servant – though when he did his eyes nearly bulged outwards.

"What the-"

Berserker charged at Radius once again. This time however the red head did something that utterly baffled all the other Servants as well as the Masters. He threw one sword towards Berserker as if handing it over.

And the maddened Servant did without missing a beat, grabbing hold of the hilt while spinning and preparing to decapitate Radius – alas during mid-spin the sword Berserker held began to glow white, ignited and burst.

A scream of pure rage shot forth from the center of the explosion though as white mist was dissipating in the air around Caster, the only thing that remained of Berserker was his unshrouded appearance.

"European decent. Probably Arthurian legends. It appears his motor functions have halted due to the reversal of sanity, though I suspect a Command Spell could cause him to reawaken. Master of Berserker I would advice you to call back your Servant and stay hidden until the next day otherwise I cannot guarantee your continued survival." Radius spoke apathetically walking towards the now still Knight, his eyes briefly connecting with the shell shocked King of Knights.

"Tell me boy, what's wrong?" Iskander asked but the ghastly expression on his Master's face made the King of Conquerors pause.

"Ri…der…" the youth started before they saw Berserker disappear into Astral form.

Caster turned back to them. His hand still holding the remaining sword however instead of remaining passive he charged at the King of Knights first striking towards her neck which immediately brought the knight back from whatever was on her mind and she blocked with her blade of wind. Radius pushed himself backwards before lowering his body and arching sideways to slash at the waist which was blocked swiftly as well before stepped back and thrust forward automatically causing the knight to block with both hands on the hilt.

Having enough of his attacks the blond knight retaliated by pushing his blade aside and swinging in kind at his neck. Instead of evading however he rose his blade over his shoulder blocking the sword for a moment before his right hand shot up grabbing the knights injured hand drawing further blood before letting go and letting the blood follow him.

Saber's eyes widened when she saw that the blood flowing from her wound was forming a hilt. Immediately recognizing the danger she was in she opted to put more pressure into her swing but Caster deflected by holding the blade diagonally causing the invisible blade to tear through the makeshift sword and cutting off the tip that had blocked it. Caster however remained unharmed swirling Saber's blood once or twice before its liquid state turned solid crystallized and formed a dagger of pure red.

"You have my thanks Lancer," the Servant turned to Lancer who looked appalled by what he saw "It is thanks to you that I achieved one of my objections, therefore I will no longer impose on your honor and allow both of you to continue your duel." he bowed before turning towards Iskander holding what was left of his sword forward and the dagger over it. "As an apology I will see to it that the King of Conquerors won't intrude either."

"H-Hold on! Caster what do you mean with objective?" Saber yelled but before an answer could be issued Lancer's Master commanded him to re-engage into the duel while the knight was still weakened. "Lancer–" Saber started blocking the red lance from hitting her neck, before jumping backwards to avoid the golden spear from impaling her abdomen.

"I apologize Saber. It seems that what I did is helping Caster…" The first knight of Fianna said before returning into his stance "I will face you however for the honor of my Master before I take care of Caster."

The blond knight gritted her teeth. How utterly irritating she thought before she held her sword in front of herself once more. However– _Where is the pain?_ She was certain that she had been injured and that she had bleed but for whatever reason she neither felt the pain nor any form of numbness. However her foe was once again commanded by his Master to attack her, leaving her no time to ponder.

"Lancer, finish Saber while Caster engages Rider. Chances like this don't arrive twice therefore finish her and help Caster end Rider and his Master." the noble in the shadows said haughtily. Making Saber's irritation not any better. She blocked the lance that aimed for her shoulder carefully sidestepping and shifting her balance to keep Lancer off of her hide.

Rider meanwhile was only observing the red head who was challenging him. He had intended to end the war for the night and reengage it once the others had either joined him or declined. "Waver, what has you shaking like a fool down there?" he asked the boy clinging at the edge of his Chariot. Before the boy could answer however Rider picked up the movement of the wind quickly pulling him backwards narrowly making him avoid the sword in Caster's hand.

Not missing a beat Iskander took his sword from his waist slashing at Caster as he passed them only for the blade to be blocked by the dagger in the Red head's hand and throwing his body backwards from the force. Caster however used the momentum to roll over his back and plant both of his feet against the crate he shot towards, bent his knees and shot right back towards Rider.

The King of Conquerors however took this as a chance to put distance between the two of them by gripping the reigns of his chariot and letting his bulls pull them farther into the docking area – as limited as the space was. "Fighting like a coward and attacking my Master. Is that how you wish to honor you legacy Caster!? If you wish to fight I will gladly stand before you!"

Saber was exchanging brief yet very precise strikes with Lancer narrowly avoid impalement as well as the Curse ridden lance that glide over her almost too close for comfort. Once they heard the roar of Rider both of paused though only for a second before Saber spun her body out of the thrust Lancer directed towards her neck into a crouch which she used to leap herself some distance away.

"We are nothing more than familiars, summoned into a Battle Royal that can see only one winner, there is no shame nor is there any honor. And as it stands this is nothing more than a play for his Majesties amusement." were the words that echoed into the bay. Neither Saber nor Lancer couldn't help but turn to the younger Red head while the golden clad Archer laughed in delight.

"To think I would be this entertained by one of you mongrel!" Archer chuckled before lifting his left hand. Ripples of pure golden light appeared in the air behind him from where at least four weapons of uncanny beauty hang out of. "Entertain me, reduce your numbers and then die as your reward for this pointless drivel!"

The King of Knights gritted her teeth a those words both from Caster as well as Archer. However instead of mulling over what those two said she returned her attention back to Lancer readying her blade. Her opponent smiled before lowering his stance and preparing himself as well. The only ones however who did not prepare for combat were the two red heads who were actively staring at each other.

"Rider." Iskander's Master started slowly reaching for his Servant's cape "This Servant is strange, his parameters are all over the place and that Skill of his doesn't make any sense. Not to mention his Noble Phant-"

"I know, Master. He is an unknown but I cannot leave him be. Something tells me that we shouldn't let him out of here." The King of Conquerors took the reigns to his bulls urging them to run their adversary over. Muscles tightened, breathing deepened and lighting rose from their hides as both bulls charged at Radius with the ferocity of a bulldozer and the destructive might of an avalanche.

Yet despite that charge, Radius did not move, rather he held out the dagger he made out of Saber's blood, first holding its edge horizontally before changing its angle diagonally by three to thirty degree. And when the bulls raged right in front of him the tip of his lollipop ignited engulfing the bulls' heads for just a moment before stepping aside from the charge and ducking under Rider's sword which shot forth to greet his head.

The spell-caster then put the dagger into his chest pocket, raising the rest of the sword he made earlier and blowing the rest of the fire onto it. He spit out the lollipop – barely anything of the stick remaining – before swirling around the slowly molding steel and forming something akin to a circle into the air with its remains.

Rider pulled on the reigns turning his mounts around before charging again at Caster. He shot through the cargo bay at such speeds that it caused ripples to form on the water around it. His Master was still clutching with all his might at the chariot though he observed Radius more intently – especially the circle he drew in front of his face. His eyes widened when he recognized the pattern and nearly called it out had it not been for a certain sound.

All combatants as well as Archer looked over to the city. Some wondering what that sound was, others cursing.

It was the sound of Sirens.

Police Sirens.

The Bulls came to a sudden halt in front of Radius, their owner staring intently at him with a glare. Yet the only reply he gave Iskander was a huff before he pulled out another lollipop and put it into his mouth. Begrudgingly the King of Conquerors sighed. "Let's return to our abode Master." he said never letting his eyes leave his fellow red head, though Radius was more focused on the Noble in the shadows. He clicked his tongue before commanding his bulls to shot through the night once more. "Oh heroes, tonight has ended far to early! Let us meet once more when the time allows for it!" he roared as he and his Master left.

"Come Lancer. Let us not waste any more time here, I rather not want to deal with these Yellow Monkey's more than necessary." The man said though his presence was already gone before that. Lancer stared at Saber, nodding and promising to meet once again before disappearing into Astral Form.

Archer had disappeared even before Rider. Leaving no clue as to who he was nor what he wished to accomplish by coming to the docks.

The only two who remained were Caster and Saber. The former let the circle he formed out of the left over blade fall towards the ground letting it clang against the concrete while he himself walked over to the King of Knights. "Caster." Saber warned holding her sword tightly in front of herself.

"You think too much." Caster said not stopping and still approaching Saber and the maiden. Saber's eyes widened at those words. "Do not worry, I have no reason to continue this farce." Each word he spoke no matter how harsh was said in a monotonous voice as though he possessed no emotions. "No matter how much you think about tonight's matters, the facts will not change. The only thing you are allowed to do in this War is to move steadfast and with your head held high."

Saber's eyes widened. So much so that she involuntarily lowered her blade a little. "What are you-" The maiden behind her looked just as surprised by the words though she visibly relaxed. Caster continued forwards, stopping right in front of the blade pointing at his heart.

"Since everyone left, I take this chance and offer an alliance to the King of Knights." He said bowing while Saber looked at him in utter bafflement.

…

When the police car arrived Mori stepped out together with his colleague for the night shift. Both of them looked at the cargo bay and the boxes in shock and confusion. Mori without thinking stepped forward slowly lifting his gun from the holster and holding it tightly with both hands. "Looks like a war zone." his colleague muttered but the younger policeman did not listen.

Instead of waiting for any of the others he stepped closer to the nearest crater. He lowered himself gun still in his hands before examining the damage to the concrete. It looked like a footprint but judging by the force applied to break the ground the person either weight more than a ton or they were made of metal of landed on this spot from probably a kilometer or a mile from the sky. Mori doubted that someone would lose a statue from those heights though so he dismissed that thought. Of all the nights for Old Fujimura to choose to be off duty.

He took a look at the surroundings, not forgetting the old man's teachings, catching glimpses of a circular object in the middle of the way. He approached it with caution slowly stepping around the debris since he knew how much forensics would chew on him if he did something to the scene. His eyes widened however when he caught sight of the object slowly closing his jaw when his eyes scanned over it frantically he put his gun into his holster quickly grabbed his notepad and scribbled down everything he saw from the moment he entered the scene and most importantly the sight that greeted his eyes. He then put the notepad back into his pockets before turning around.

Footsteps were approaching his partner. "Wait, who are yo~…" the man began before falling silent.

In alarm he spun around eyeing what looked like a priest who held something in his hands. A cup? No, a pot. Smoke rose from the pot slowly dancing around the priest. His partner for the night appeared to have been put into trance. Mori kept his eyes peeled on the man standing before him. It was an elderly priest with a long scarf draped around his shoulders.

The smoke was wafting towards him, and he began to lower his hand from his gun. Slowly the priest walked over to him – his mind became hazy with a voice repeating "Nothing has happened, everything is as usual." lulling him into closing his eyes.

When Mori opened his eyes again he thought that something was amiss. His partner gently shook his shoulder, pulling him out of the trance. "What's wrong?" his colleague asked pulling out his transmitter and giving a call to headquarter.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong." both of them said before they turned around and returned to the car. Mori however slowly let go of his pocket, silently wondering why his hand had been clutching his notepad so tightly. Slowly letting go he noticed that his fingertips were bleeding slightly but he dismissed that. Maybe the old man was right and he was letting this job get to him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he had a feeling that something was amiss. But he would dwell on that later when they had returned to the station.

:::

Saika Fujimura was rushing through the halls of the police station. Radius was following behind him in equal haste. Neither took the time to greet the other officers on the way to the Chief Inspectors office.

When the older on opened the door Radius closed it behind him. "Lock it up." Saika said before letting himself drop onto a chair. The Servant looked at them once before placing himself in the background and listened to the unfolding conversation. The room was spacious with many pictures and photographs hanging on the wall next to the large windows. The Chief Inspectors desk was plain which was in stark contrast to the worn down armchair he sat on. Radius caught a glance to his name plate, reading 'Edogawa Ranpo'

"Let me cut to the chase. The major has come forward tonight and told me to drop our investigation into the serial murders." The Chief said , before a heavy sigh fell from the older man's mouth. "Seriously Fujimura, what kind of mess are you digging up here?"

"If the Major came forward to you directly that it means the lands owner has caught wind of our investigation." Saika said with his eyes fixated on a picture on the wall. It showed four man, one a elderly bald man with eyes as dark as the night wearing traditional Japanese clothing, another a young man with sharp eyes and a goatee wearing a suite. The other two appeared to be the major and Chief Inspector Edogawa. "About time."

Radius looked at Saika once more, the Inspector took of his cap leaning backwards slightly. "Took them long enough. I had expected a quicker reaction from Tokiomi-kun, otherwise he would have stopped our investigation weeks ago."

"No kidding. You've been saying that for years now. I get it, you never liked his father but still…" the Chief looked around worriedly, "Don't forget that he's got at least half of the force in the town to his beck and call. One wrong move-"

"I don't care what the boy will do. The only thing that matters now is identifying the cult and finding every last one of them who has blood on their hands. After all that is the reason why this young man came to us." Saika rebutted turning to Radius slightly. "You caught most of that?"

Radius lifted another lollipop from his pockets, placing it into his mouth. "I wouldn't mind you elaborating a bit more."

The Chief Inspector nodded standing up from his armchair and walking to the large window in the room. "See, the lands on which Fuyuki was built on is property of the Tohsaka family. Most of the decisions that involve the city are either directly approved or managed by the head of the family. At the moment it would be Tokiomi Tohsaka." The Chief pointed at the picture frame with the four men.

"They sound like Mafia, pardon,Yakuza." Radius added at which both men laughed. Neither found it humorous.

"You're not far off." Saika remarked, his eyes going to the chief while his head remained turned to Radius. "Chief, I've received word from my brother that he will start to do some renovations." The Chief Inspector turned around quickly his mouth slack before closing it tightly.

"Are you sure?"

"At behest of Tokiomi-kun."

"…" the Chief lowered his head, slowly pulling his glasses of his nose with his right hand and looking at Saika over the rim. "Are you certain that you can trust him?"

The Inspector nodded, looking as serious as he could "He never once lied to me. Never could either."

A sigh filled the room. Chief Inspector Edogawa looked out of the window again. "As you probably noticed, this city is strange. The local government is wrapped around the Tohsaka's fingers and our hands are mostly tied due to his influence over the major."

"Then," Radius started slowly moving into the room farther, "-why not using that to our advantage? If Tohsaka has that much influence why not move the case around something that does not directly involve him."

Both men looked at him with sharp eyes. But he continued, taking long and careful looks at the pictures on the wall. Children, three of them when the eldest looked around ten, but one disappeared when the children looked three years older. He looked at a lone black stone in the corner of the room, hidden by the bookshelves and case-files. A single name engraved into it.

"If, and only if, Tokiomi Tohsaka is part of a cult that celebrates annual killing sprees in this city, then there are others. And if we managed to separate those others from any form of communication by claiming that they are part of some illegal activity…" he let the men's imagination formulate the rest.

Already did that ones. Somehow the tapes and the people involved disappeared and the officers questioning them don't remember anything that happened during the questioning." Saika said though judging from the reaction of the chief it seems to be news to him.

Radius moved around the room once more, offering a prayer to the little altar with both his hands in a praying position before he turned around and looked at them. "Then how about starting with what we we know."

Saika laughed slightly "We, huh? We took in some of Tokiomi's so called associates. They were thieves who stole and delivered something from Sumeria though they couldn't remember what it was. Then we caught some people smuggling huge amounts of jewelry but that was legitimate business."

"Then let's separate the matters of Tokiomi Tohsaka with the situation of the cult."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Every sixty years." Radius said, causing both man to have different reactions.

"See I told you the line wasn't safe." Saika said to the Chief who was silently fuming. "Anyway, what did you dig up?"

Chief Edogawa looked at both of them, sighing and moving to his desk, pulling out one of the drawers and throwing its content onto the table. It were files. Missing people files, smuggling, murder, disappearances, dubious activity of the mafia and reports that looked as old as both man combined. Radius quickly picked up the folder with the cleanest and most expensive looking cover.

"This…" He scanned over the content of the papers quickly, immediately grasping the content and looking at Saika who was reading another file. "This is a summation of a string of disappearances during the Nazi's assault sixty years ago."

"Worse, it is just part one of the list." Fujimura added while holding up the folder "Here's part two with all the gruesome detail at which the corpses that were found were handled and in what state of decay they were."

"Rather unnatural if you ask me…"

"Yes, the bodies were found days after the people disappeared but their appearance suggests that they had been dead for decades if not longer. Some of them don't even make sense; like take this for example: Darnic Preston, officer in duty of the Nazi's with his head decapitated and his body eaten from the inside out by something resembling bugs."

"That doesn't make sense. From the drawings of the time it appears those bugs had to have been the size of a rabbit but the largest insects in the world are nowhere near that size."

"Would both of you please stop talking about the way those people died? I'm getting sick just thinking about all the implications that could have with the situation we have today." The Chief inspector plead but neither of the others were listening to him.

"The circle…"

"The one from the notebook, huh? Guess you were right." Saika added before addressing his superior "Chief , have this data digitized as soon as possible and sent to as many stations willing to work with us. Tell them I request their help in a case, that should make them accept without causing a fuss."

"But-"

Radius interrupted the Chief "I agree. If this cult is what we think it might be, then they will most likely not have any means to intercept digital information. It doesn't matter if it is leaked either since it is harder to erase something from the minds of nameless faceless beings across the nation."

"You want to leak this?" Saika asked with sharp eyes looking at Radius. "Kindaichi-san what you are proposing could cost us the trust of the people."

"Not if we offer it to a TV crew or Film producer." eyes went wide. " If we want to ensure that this information does not disappear then we need to ensure that at least a fictional version that resembles the truth goes out to the public. As long as it remains hidden in plain sight even the Cult will be incapable of erasing its existence."

"You intend to leak it as a script for a movie or TV series…" Saika grabbed his chin, "That could work. It would even be of use to us if a TV Station does the snooping around **for** us since it is more than likely that they will ask **us** for help in their research. We could investigate the case without arousing unnecessary complications from Tokiomi-kun."

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you listening to yourselves? You talking about using the information about our case and turning it into a play for the masses? Are you insane? We still don't have any clue if all of this is related with our case at hand! What makes you think that-" The Chief was interrupted when someone knocked on the door.

All three of them narrowed their eyes. Radius slowly moved to the back of the room again, into a corner behind a shelf while the Chief Inspector recomposed himself and moved over to his seat. Saika did nothing besides putting on his cap again. "Enter." The Chief commanded, releasing his caught breath when he saw Mori enter and saluting.

The young officers fingers were bandaged around the tips.

Saika immediately noticed. "Oi, Mori, what happened to your fingers?"

Mori stopped his salute to take out his notepad, handing it to his superior. "I'm sorry but I don't know. One moment me and my shift partner go to the docks and the next I was holding my pad so tightly that my fingers started to bleed." The Inspector took the pad, flipping through it before stopping.

A dark chuckle escaped his lips once before he flipped it over and showed the drawings to the Chief Inspector. "I think we found you connection Ran-chan."

The Chief eyed him once for taking the pad. "Didn't I tell you not to call me that when we're not in the bar?" he stared at the open page before his eyes opened so wide that it appeared comical. "Officer Mori…where did you see this?"

"To be honest," the young man started sweating under the gazes directed at him, "I-I don't remember…," Saika's and Radius's eyes narrowed, "But I know that something off happened at the docks. As you can see, I used everything Inspector Fujimura taught me to describe and take note of the scene and included personal impressions as well…but I have not recollection of doing it and the scene looked nothing like what I drew…sir."

The Chief inspector sighed, glancing at his colleague before looking at Radius and back to Mori. "Why were you at the docks in the first place, weren't you told to go rest for the night."

"Officer Manjome has been on shift without a partner so I decided to join him since I couldn't get the case out of my mind, sir!" The youth announced eliciting a groan from his partner. "Eitherway we have received a call from an anonymous source, that something happened at the docks, that was the main reason why we went. Sir."

The three man exchanged looks.

"Something happening, huh?" Radius began.

"Something that was loud and flashy enough to cause a ruckus? And did you say the source was anonymous, Mori? What about their voice?"

"It was slightly muffled as if they were biting down on something."

"If something were to happen that couldn't be scrapped under the carpet."

"But if we can believe Mori than the scene was tempered with, meaning somebody either erased all the evidence or they manipulated Mori into not seeing it."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?!" The younger officer interjected but shut up once his mentor looked at him sharply.

"Get checked at forensics right now. Let them check whatever is in your blood or skin or whatever and let them take samples without any fuss. You might've been drugged without knowing, so we should be thankful that you at least had the decency to clutch onto your notepad. Now go." The old man said massaging his nose while Mori looked at him dumbfounded.

"You heard him Officer." The Chief said when the young man did not move, causing the man to look up and excuse himself. "This…"

"I want at least three people on stake out duty at the docks. Let them stay out of sight at least a block or two away and tell them to phone HQ every half an hour." Saika looked at his superior, "I don't care how paranoid it is, but whatever happened at the docks gives us a clue far to valuable to let go. Let the man check for everything that comes and goes from the docks and I mean everything, if they let even the tiniest mouse out of their reports I will personally slap some moral into their heads."

Radius watched how the Chief slowly moved towards the door, murmuring curses while he passed him, before he stopped when Saika spoke up again. "And tell them to take the steel cases with the walkies talkies and camera. Should something happen they can at least throw it into the sea."

"Anything else?" Chief Inspector Edogawa asked just as Inspector Fujimura got up from his seat.

"If my hunch is correct then we are going to have words with a certain someone." Saika said – just then a sound from far away broke through the night.

All alarms in the Office building went off. Each and every on. One of the Inspectors came rushing into the office of Chief Edogawa with a panicked look on his face which slowly lost more and more color the more he let his breath catch.

"Chief! The Fuyuki Hayatt is in flames!"

::: ::: :::

Caster was an enigma. That much was clear to Iskander. He sat besides his Master who was noting down something on a piece of paper but that didn't matter too much. Both of them went to a store some good distance away from the docks where they encountered all the other Servants and decided to get something to eat.

Much to his surprise Waver did not protest and instead is munching on this thing called hot dog without questioning it. Rider looked at the boy and thought back to Caster and their first clash. He knew from the outset that the young man had it out for him though it eluded him as to why that would be. Maybe they encountered each other when he conquered the known world? No he would remember a beast in human clothing at a glance-

"Would you take a look at this with me Rider?" Waver asked finishing his meal in two bites before showing Iskander what he wrote down. The Servant took the paper and looked at in mild interest.

… - …

Servant Caster

True Name: Radius Aldria

Lore Name: ?

Strength: C

Endurance: B+

Agility: EX

Mana: E

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: Thou art I For I art the End - EX

Class Skills:

 **Territory Creation EX**

 **Item Construction EX+**

 **Core of ? B+**

Personal Skill:

Madness Resurrection - EX

P-…

Her-…

… - …

"Boy, what is this?"

"It's a stat sheet. When a Master looks at a Servant they see something like that floating in the air." Waver rebutted annoyingly taking another Hot dog from their tray and biting down on it aggressively. "There are too many things that don't make sense with Caster. His stats easily qualify him for one of the Three Knight Classes but his overall abilities are still listed as unknown, we should be thankful that he was summoned as a Caster especially considering how his Mana Stat doesn't make sense."

Rider pointed at the paper "What does this Lore Name mean?"

"Beats me." Waver looked off to the side, looking at the city and its citizen. Fuyuki was so different from London. Not as stifling and nowhere near as gray. This time of the year Clock Tower would be draped in autumn colors…

"Maybe the reason why we can't ascertain these things is because we only heard his real name, maybe he made his name under another?" Rider reasoned while scratching his chin. His eyes fell onto the paper again and he had to wonder just what Caster did to earn his place in the Holy Grail War.

"You mean he used a fake name and became a legend with it and the actual person got summoned?" Waver's questioning tone was sound and well deserved.

"I'm just saying that it could be. The boy was strange to begin with. Instead of lurking in the shadows he stood in the air for all to see and when he was discovered he didn't run, no, he choose to dive into the fight without a second thought. Such bravado of a Caster is truly remarkable though I doubt that he would join my army."

"He already declined before you asked!"

"And yet he still stuck around and fought Berserker!" Rider's eyebrows rose. "By the way have you figured out who Berserker is? Caster did a marvelous job at identifying him and from the looks of it Saber knew who Berserker was as well."

Waver didn't answer immediately, the boy just sat there eating his meal with a look that was indescribable. "Lancelot." was all he needed to say to make Rider laugh like a mad man. "Why are you laughing Rider! WE have to deal with both the King of Knights AND the knight said to be unbeatable! What if both of them formed an alliance!?"

"Calm down Waver." Rider said after a few moments of laughing. He couldn't help himself. "Why do you think Berserker is Lancelot? Wouldn't the bastard of King Arthur fit the Berserker Class better?"

The youth looked at him again with his face slack and mouth hanging slightly. Instead of anwering Waver pointed at his own eyes. "For whatever reason when the fog around Berserker disappeared it lifted whatever was preventing me from seeing his Stats. I could only see the 'La-' in his name but from the way Caster described him and how distraught Saber looked it was pretty easy to guess that the Servant in question would be non other than the Knight of the Lake."

Rider appreciated that. That quick analytical thinking. It was something he hadn't suspected from the boy and it surprised him pleasantly that Waver had a sharp mind. Indeed, he was glad that 'this' was his Master instead of the boy's tutor.

"Excuse me, sir?" Both of them looked to the side, stopping their conversation momentarily to see a Police officer approaching them.

"Uhm…" Waver was stuttering and trying desperately to form some Japanese sentences. The policeman looked at him slowly cocking his head in confusion. Rider let out a tired sigh; No matter how formidable his Master was in his studies, he was still wet behind his ears.

"How can we help you?" Iskander asked in Japanese making the policeman look at him in surprise.

"Oh~ your Japanese is good." the man commented before he pulled out his notepad. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience but could you please come with us to the station?" Both of their eyes widened, but the policeman held up his hand in defense, "Don't worry, just a routine investigation. Some time ago someone broke into a bookstore and we are looking for men who might fit the description of the perpetrato-" The man stopped abruptly looking at Waver's hand with the Command Seals.

Waver saw that the man was becoming wary so he tried to formulate a plan but Iskander placed a steady hand on his shoulder. "Sure. I see no reason not to." he said with a smile without looking at his Master.

"Thank you for your assistance, it shouldn't take too long." The policeman said with a smile, visibly relaxing before grabbing his pager and messaging something.

::: ::: :::

Saber clung to the top of the car's frame. A drop of sweat was rolling down her cheek as she warily smiled at Irisviel's driving. It was suspicious that the car had been prepared for them but she really couldn't fathom on why she let the princess drive. The only reason why she did not voice anything unnecessary was due to the figure sitting on the passenger seat behind her.

The King of Knights was glancing at the red haired Servant, watching write down something while he remained perfectly still despite the huge turns Irisviel took and how much the car swayed every time she accelerated in them. He looked up meeting her gaze before looking over to Irisviel. "May I inquire if you are in possession of a drivers license Lady Einzbern?"

Irisviel looked at him through the rear mirror. Saber watched how her brows furrowed slightly. "You can call me Irisviel. Lady Einzbern sounds so stifling." she said with a faint smile though Saber had to comment on how calm and collected she was. No sign of nervousness. Was it because she knew that Saber would protect her with her life? Or was it just her upbringing. In a way this blind trust eased her heart, especially consideri-

"Irisviel, if you can, would you not drive so carelessly. During the time I separated with my Master I have seen the police force swarming the streets and on high alert. It would be tedious to rid ourselves of their presence and I would rather avoid enacting a chase scene on American highways. Not the famous one from the movies but the infamous that happened not too long ago." Radius said without missing a single beat interrupting Saber's thoughts.

That was something else that bothered her. This Servants ability to perceive things and frankly without a hint of emotion voice his thoughts in a way that prevented her from letting her mind wander. Never had she met a man that could compete with Merlin when it came to such matters. As unsettling as it was she at least was glad that Caster wasn't as depraved as her parental figure.

Her mind wandered back to the friend she once made and whom she was going to face undoubtedly. "Instead of dreading the inevitable, it would be more productive to keep an eye on your supposed Master, Arthur."

Irisviel gripped the wheel tightly just as Saber nearly ripped the roof of the car off. The knight looked over her shoulder staring – glaring – at the Servant of Spells as he cocked his head to the side. "Am I wrong?"

"What are you talking Caster?" she said before blinking when Radius presented her with a lollipop. Despite herself her stomach started to grumble demanding food. Her cheeks tinted slightly before she took the sugary sweet and put it into her mouth – all the while Irisviel was laughing on the side.

"Irisviel does not carry your Command Seals on her right hand." Radius began leaning back and writing something into his notepad again, "Unless her being a Homunculus changes the magical makeshift of them it would either mean that Irisviel is not your Master and is only acting that way or that her Command Seals are integrated into her functions." he looked up slightly eyeing Irisviel with that unreadable expression. "By the way Irisviel I would suggest you to take a turn on the next crossroad the faint sound of sirens suggests that the police are checking the vicinity."

Saber stared at him again. He was not wrong, there indeed was the sound of sirens in the air which is why she nodded at her Master's wife. Irisviel took the turn though she looked a little distressed. "I could have hidden my Command Seals anywhere on my body, after all as you said I'm a homunculus made specifically for this Grail War."

"That would be tragic." Caster said instead looking at Irisviel with his fully attention. "To be born for a singular purpose…I believe that _tragic_ is the right word, is it not?"

"Yet I can not change what I am." The lady answered with a strong voice, taking another turn at Caster's behest and finding themselves on the intended road. "By the way Caster, I can not help but wonder who you are. You revealed your name so easily yet I have not read any records of a Heroic Spirit by your name."

Saber narrowed her eyes at the Servant of Spells. Instead of answering however he pulled out yet another lollipop and put it in his mouth. Then he took two more out of his breast pocket holding them out for Saber to take. "Hungry?"

She was abhorred by the notion of accepting an enemy's food yet to Saber's displeasure her stomach started to growl. Irisviel chuckled while she took one of the lollipop's with one hand, "Thank you Caster." she said before asking Saber to unwrap it for her. The Servant reluctantly did and handed it back just as Irisviel put it in her mouth and squealed.

"You are welcome Irisviel. I hope it isn't too sweet." He said just as smoke rose from the stick of the lollipop.

"What the – ?!" Saber nearly screamed when she saw it but it seemed as though Irisviel was too absorbed in the sweet. Caster holding out the remaining lollipop did not help her growling stomach. She snatched it from his hand and put it in her mouth, experiencing an explosion of sourness, sweetness and something she could not describe as anything other than: Delight.

"Such an exquisite taste." Irisviel gushed though she eyed the mirror with slightly narrowed eyes. "There is something else I would like to ask you about Caster; Who is your Master?" Saber turned her attention to Irisviel, not missing the upbeat tone of her voice though it was laced with inquiry and suspicion.

"My Master was a child Murderer."

Both Saber's and Irisviel's eyes opened wide both of them tightening their hold on the respective objects in their hands. Radius's words cut like a knife with no room for misunderstanding. The blond knight closed her eyes, stopping herself – her mind – from thinking about the implications, but it did leave out certain things.

"How I can be so certain that he was?" Radius said as if reading her mind. At this point that might as well have been the case – Saber concluded. "I take you've heard about the number of family mass killings that have been happening in Fuyuki and its surroundings."

"That –" Irisviel's eyes were glued to the road. Uncharacteristically she drove slowly with careful turns instead of the maneuvers she performed before. Saber agreed that these implications were more than enough for them to blank out the gaps.

"Do not worry. I have taken it upon myself to find a suitable Master soon." Caster continued without missing a beat, slowly turning to look out of the driver side window. Saber followed his gaze, yet all she saw were woods and the distant sight of the city.

"Are you implicating that you will take my Master, Caster?" she said though he only slightly glanced at her. He took out the remains of his lollipop spinning it slightly and turning it into a dagger. Saber sighed when she saw that. "What have you done to my wound Caster?"

"I reduced the area of effect, mimicking the skin closing the wound while leaving the curse unattended." Radius began taking out another lollipop, "It wouldn't be fair for you to fight Lancer with a wound like that – minor as it is – therefore for the duration of the first twenty clashes I reduced the blood loss and pain by taking the infected cursed area and blood, morphing it into a dagger. The rest depends on whether or not you take Avalon once more as your own."

"What do you mean." Saber didn't notice the quick intake of air from the driver.

"If you haven't noticed than I shall remain silent. School your senses more O King of Knights, otherwise another illusion will cause your fall once again."

The knight's eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "I will not be deceived, Caster."

"Very Well."

::: ::: :::

Radius walked together with Inspector Fujimura towards the Hayatt Building walking past numerous civilians that had been evacuated from the building. Some were families with deep roots in the city while others were tourists with too much money to spend.

Saika did not waste any time when they approached a well dressed man with blond combed back hair. The man looked aristocratic though there wasn't much else that was of note since his wrists were tied behind his back.

"I demand to be released you yellow monkeys! Unhand me Orientals otherwise I will ruin your pathetic lives!" Radius took note that the man was missing a tooth or two though the moment he caught sight of him the Noble's eyes widened with veins popping on his forehead. "Y-You–" the man began before Radius decided to approach him.

"It has been a while Kayneth Archibald El Melloi. Have you fared well?" he said each word corresponding with each step. The policemen holding Kayneth looked at Inspector Fujimura who only stared at the scene, slowly narrowing his eyes.

"Y-you…H-how…" The Noble's eyes were so wide open that it appeared comical though Radius did not stop, instead rolling up his left sleeve and showing all the men present the scar that went its length.

"Remember this?"

"Bu-But–?!" It was only in that moment when Kayneth realized the situation he was in. Radius knew therefore he gouged a reaction from the man as Kayneth started to spew insults in English all over the place. It was clear however that the policemen put two and two together roughly bringing the man down onto his knees with a swift kick to the calves and started to drag him once Inspector Fujimura gave his nod.

Kayneth was dragged away screaming.

"What do you think caused the fire?" The Inspector looked at the scene of the still smoking building. The glass facade appeared to have been ripped to shreds and the highest floor where the Noble's suit was suspected to be was up in smokes.

"An explosive? Possible something to do with the cult's activity in the city." Radius said rolling down his sleeve and looking up as well.

"Did you know that Japan has dealt with lunatics like this before? Just last year even…" Saika started going between the people on the outside.

"You mean the Cult that used poisonous gas in the Tokyo Metropolitan Subways? The Aum Shinrikyo?" Radius followed the Inspector, always within two or three feet to the older man "That case was so infamous that the military and police forces raided over five hundred houses associated with the cult with thousands of men going the extra mile to capture them."

"You came at the right time Kindaichi-san." Saika said once their came closer to the smoking building. A firefighter was approaching them, holding out a small package with a light on the top. The wrapping was gray in color, yet tight neatly with expertly precision. "I don't know whether you have the devils luck or you were cursed by some deity, but…"

Saika took the package, inspecting it from top to button, sniffing it even, while the firefighter looked at him in confusion. The old man then placed it on the ground, motioning for everyone in the vicinity to move out of the way. He motioned for the cops on the back to come over with riot shields, going as far as clearing out a fifty meter diameter with shields surrounding the package.

"Get the Bomb disposal lot, that's C4. Military C4." He said much to the shock of everyone around "Clear the area, get the people out of the building and the entire block. If my hunch is right we have at the least one floor rigged with explosives." Saika turned to Radius once more, his half covered eyes sharp, unspoken pain surfacing within them.

"It would look like we have a cult to hunt."

:::: ::: ::::

"Caster is proving to be the most unreadable enemy we have so far. I haven't expected him to attack the Lord El Melloi in his suit but we should thank him for eliminating Lancer out of the war." Tokiomi Tohsaka was both pleased and irritated. He had specifically ordered Kirei not to leave the Church yet the reports he received were more than enough to excuse that behavior.

Caster from the moment he appeared before Kirei had been an enigma, the problems arising from his claim to be summoned by a Magician and then revealing his true name without Tokiomi knowing anything about him…those could be excused. The Servant's stats were chaotic, unfitting even for the Caster Class and it did not matter either. Archer was still the most powerful Servant in this War.

What was displeasing however was the amount of chaos that Caster had caused. The Lord El Melloi had been arrested after Caster's assault on his apartment and was currently escorted to the Police Head Quarter and the Tohsaka patriarch couldn't get in contact with Chief Inspector Edogawa or the Chief of Police of the Kanto region. "Well as long as the Lord El Melloi stays out of the war…"

Placing a Lord of the Clock Tower in his debt. The Lord El Melloi especially, would provide the necessary backing he needed to establish the Tohsaka family into the ranks of the Clock Tower. Even if he lost everything before the end of the War he may be able to give his daughter a powerful ally should she choose to go to Briton and establish herself.

A sigh escaped his lips before placing his wineglass against them. Rin being as potential as she was could cause quiet the stir in the ranks of the Clock Tower. The other lords or lesser Nobles could try to seduce her into their services. She would need at least one powerful backer and significant amounts of money to ensure her safety. Therefore having the Lord profound in Mineralogy and Alchemy would certainly ensure her survival in that hostile environment.

Alas such thoughts were interrupted by a Skull mask wearing man appearing into his study. Tokiomi looked up barely registering the Servant before placing his glass onto the counter. "Is something the matter Kirei?"

"My Master wanted to inform you that the Magus Killer may be involved in the War after all." Tokiomi's eyes narrowed, especially when the Servant continued. "The police have found explosives within the Fuyuki Hayatt Building. That suggests that someone with experience in Warfare attempted to bring the entire building down just to kill the El Melloi and his Servant."

"And that would fit Kiritsugu Emiya's Modus Operanti." Tokiomi sighed. To bring down the building just to kill a single target…there was no mistake, those were actions that this man had taken before. He gulped down the rest of his glass before placing it onto the table. "Tell Father Kotomine that I myself will go to the Police Head Quarter. Knowing the Magus Killer he would even attack them just to finish the job Caster started."

The Assassin disappeared into the shadows. Just as he passed half of his room, Archer materialized looking at him with an unreadable expression. "My Liege-" Tokiomi started to bow but the golden clad Servant stopped him with a look.

"I am bored Tokiomi. Bring me along to that Head Quarter and let me see whether it is a fitting place for me to claim." The golden Servant said with authority.

"My liege, that place is hardly a fortress-"

"That is for me to judge. Now. Lead the way!" The King commanded and Tokiomi bit his lower lip.

"Before that my Liege, us lowly humans in this age wouldn't be able to handle your appearance. If you wish for me to lead may you dress befitting for this ag-"

"Worry not Tokiomi, I have garments befitting any age in my vault." The golden Servant said before his armor dissipated and replaced itself with a golden tuxedo and pants. "I believe even the mongrels of this age can handle this appearance.

Tokiomi couldn't say anything in return, only cursing on the inside.

::: :::: :::

Kariya was cursing as he walked through the back alleys of Fuyuki. Has was clutching his left arm and numbly moved one foot forward in an attempt to move. The events of the night and the fight at the docks was still present in his mind. He spewed curses at Caster, at Tokiomi at everyone and himself. He still didn't understand why Berserker had not attacked the other Servants when Caster appeared, through their link as Master and Servant he felt something akin to lucidity when Berserker looked upon Caster but that couldn't be.

Either way that Servant ruined his chances at killing Tokiomi's Servant. He slipped hitting the wall beside him hard before stumbling onto a pile of garbage. Kariya coughed violently though he held his voice back, cursing under his breath when he saw the blood and those accursed worms wriggling in it and threw all of it to the ground.

He slowly rose from the ground and strode forward once more. That was until he heard gurgling from around the next corner. He stilled, stopped his voice and as slowly as he could walked towards the corner and trying to look around it with his one good eye. Which widened as far as it could.

Held against the wall was Assassin – definitely more bulky than the one that died in front of Tokiomi's manor – slowly turning into something glass like, losing all its color. The one holding him was a white gloved figure he had not expected there.

Caster.

Caster was holding Assassin by the neck.

Kariya watched the scene unfold, unable to move when he saw the Servants. Caster slowly let go of the crystallized Assassin before touching his own face with the same hand – Kariya's mouth dropped when he saw the upper layer of Caster's face lift off from his face and placed atop Assassin's. Assassin's body convulsed into itself changing its shape with the glass like structure deforming and reforming until it became the same height and body type of Caster.

The Face of Caster remained apathetic as it was looking into its mirror which used to be Assassin.

Both Caster lookalikes turned towards him. "Kariya Matou, I assume that you do not have the strength to go on into this war." the first Caster said.

"It would be wiser to resume as if you haven't seen anything." The second spoke. "Ideally you should find shelter."

"Know that Assassin and his Master are on Tokiomi Tohsaka's side." Both of them said at the same time before turning around and disappearing into mist.

Kariya was left speechless. What had he just witnessed?

He couldn't dwell on it however when he heard footsteps approaching him and before he could ran away a light was shone onto him. "Halt it! Turn around and look here Sir." Kariya grunted at his misfortune slowly turning around and seeing a Police Officer standing at the end of the alley. "Oh my- Sir, are you alright? Would you mind stepping over here?"

In the back of his mind Kariya knew that he should kill the man before anyone else saw him – the worms agreed judging by the way they moved under his skin. He clutched his face with his good hand ready to launch the beasts festering underneath his skin but he didn't when he saw that the Policeman was not alone. In fact there were at least two others.

Killing one and he could push that into the hands of Zouken who would put the blame on the local Yakuza, kill two and it would become credible even…kill three or more and nobody would be able to safe him from the shame and sorrow he would feel.

At the forefront of his mind Kariya knew that it was safer to go with them and get this over with. Zouken will probably get him out of custody quickly, considering that vampires influence over the city. The thought of staying on the streets became inherently more terrifying and sleeping in a cell sounded better than any dumpster in Fuyuki. A question that terrified him however lingered as he was escorted by the officers:

What was Caster?

::: ? ! ;;; :::

A figure in white stood atop the tallest building in Fuyuki, overseeing the madness that was about to begin. A single thought was dancing around its faceless existence * What was _That_ doing here? *

:::: To be Continued ::::

 _A/N: I finally have a direction and chapter limit for this story! Good news people until my Beta Emerian sends me the remaining chapters for Fate Alliances I will continue with this little story of mine that I started two years ago and now finally intend to finish._

 _Don't worry about my other stories, all of them are still being written though I'm super busy with Uni and exams, so please forgive me for my lateness!_

 _On an unrelated note I will experiment with this story a little (the outline is still the same) with structure and the sequence of events. Some fights will be written, others will only be mentioned, so I leave it up to you to put out a vote which fight you truly want to see!_

 _See you next time R &R,_

 _Yours dear,_

 _Sha Yurigami_


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